The Balance of Shadows
by Dreamer Wolf
Summary: Yugi hears a strange voice and soon he and the other yamis and hikaris meet a strange creature that hunts them in their soul rooms. A creature that along time ago killed her own hikari. And to tip the balance in her favor, another must die. Ch.1 format fi
1. A Shadow's Whisper

Much thanks to the reviewers who pointed out the crappy format on this chapter so I could make it a bit easier to read.

The Balance of Shadows Check it out people: My first Yugioh fic! Let's hope I got most of the details right, if not all of them. Oh yeah, and I have a quick note here that's pretty important. Can I have people's attention here for a minute! Ok, didn't mean to shout, but I need to say this before some freak yells it at me in a review. I don't know a thing about Marik or Malik except what I've briefly read in other fanfcis, okay? So they are not in this story. They don't exist in this little corner of the Yugioh universe. This may seem really irrelevant now, but trust me; it's a little more important later. The story would have been a little more confusing if I hadn't said that. Yeah, anyway...umm...you can stop listening to me now...

Disclaimer: looks at it You're kidding, right? I have to actually tell people? You're all smart enough to figure out that I don't own Yugioh, right? Ok, then I don't have to say it...I just said it didn't I?

Ch. 1- A Shadow's Whisper

Yugi put down his pencil and stared glumly out the window. Why did it always seem like the more homework he had, the nicer the day was? The sky was a clear sapphire blue with only a slight breath of wind rustling the higher branches of the trees he could see.

Yugi banged his head down on his desk. He was supposed to concentrate on 19th century authors on a day like this? Not going to happen. Not in this lifetime.

Yugi was about to pack it up and run outside when he remembered having promised his grandpa he'd do all his homework before playing. His grandpa was off on a very promising dig and had been concerned his grandson would neglect his school work while he was gone. Yugi slumped in his chair muttering about meddling grandpas.

From inside the puzzle, Yami could feel his Hikari's souring mood.. He silently materialized behind the young boy and put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi gave a start and whirled around. Seeing Yami, he visibly relaxed. "Oh, hi Yami," he gave a tired smile.

"Are you done yet?" Yami asked hopefully. Yugi gave a rueful smile.

"I wish. I just can't concentrate." Yami scowled. He'd been in the puzzle all day while Yugi was at school. Not that Yugi had too much trouble with bullies lately. Even the most thick- headed had begun to realize that those who messed with the seemingly weak boy ended up hurt... if they were lucky.

Yugi smiled happily as a though struck him. "Let's take a walk to the library. I've got some research to do anyway and at least we'll be outside for a while." Yugi threw the backpack over his shoulder...and nearly fell over with the weight.

"Just how much homework is in there?" Yami laughed as he helped Yugi to his feet. "Two years worth and it's due in two days." Yugi grumbled. Yami smirked and put the backpack over his own shoulder. He hadn't wanted to travel in the puzzle anyway. The day was as nice as it had seemed from Yugi's window. He was almost skipping as he walked, feeling about a million pounds lighter without the backpack. He felt slightly guilty that Yami had to carry it, but looking up at him, Yami didn't seem to mind in the least. He kept his usual smooth stride, his long steps slightly slower to match Yugi's smaller ones. Yami looked down at his small light and smirked as Yugi's stomach let out a low growl. "Hungry Aibou?"

"Yeah. Can we stop for burgers?" Yugi gave Yami the infallible "puppy eyes".

"Of course," Yami nodded. His arm was nearly ripped from its socket as Yugi pulled him excitedly down the sidewalk towards the burger place. After they got their orders from Hellomynameiswhoever, they plopped down in two chairs by the window. Yami watched amusedly as Yugi practically unhinged his jaw trying to shove the maximum amount of burger into his mouth.

"I don't think your mouth is big enough to chew all that, Aibou."

"Uh han fumer anoo," Yugi tried to say. "Care to repeat that?" Yami tried not to laugh.

"I said," Yugi swallowed. "I can fit more than you."

Ok, this was a challenge. A stupid and pointless one perhaps, but a challenge none the less. And was the game king about to pass this up? Not. A. Chance.

Which is why, when Jounochi walked in five minutes later, he found tow nearly identical teens trying like heck to fit two humungous burgers in their mouthes. Yami managed to finaly pack it all in and shut his mouth completely. "Ha! I win!" At least that's what he tried to say. It was more along the lines of, "Hm! Mm mm!"

"Mmm mmm ummm!" Yugi protested.

"Hmm ummm uh mmm!" Yami shot back. Jounochi nearly collapsed from laughter. He pulled up a chair next to Yugi, took another look at Yami bulging cheeks and burst out in another round of laughter.

"Y-Yami!" he gasped. "You look...haha...you look like a chipmunk!" Yugi finished what was in his mouth and joined Jonouchi in laughing at Yami. Yami tried to glare at them which only made them laugh harder. They were outside and a block away before either of them could talk rationally.

"So where are you guys headed?" Jonouchi asked.

"Library."

"On a Friday? Jeeze. Come with me to the arcade. You got all weekend for that," jonouchi reasoned.

"I wish, but I promised Grandpa," Yugi explained.

"Yough luck, man." Jounochi said sympathetically. "See you later ok?"

"Yeah, see you."

At the library, Yugi buried himself in a mound of biographies and started atking notes. Yami sat next to him, reading over his shoulder.

"Um, Aibou, why do they want you to read these?"

"It's supposed to teach us something." Yugi answered distractedly.

"What?"

"I have no idea."

"Wonderful," Yami grumbled. "Time consuming and pointless."

"Pretty much."

Several hours later, Yugi felt a hand gently shaking his shoulder. "Aibou wake up. The library's closing."

Yugi sat up with a jolt. "I slept the whole time?" He moaned.

"Come on, Aibou." Yami lead the sleepy boy through the maze of books and out the front door. "I told you not to stay up so late watching those cartoons," he couldn't help adding. The cold air did wonders for waking Yugi up. The breeze had increased to a strong gale, bringing clouds in from over the horizon.

Yugi shivered and quickened his pace. He hadn't been planning to stay so late and hadn't bothered to bring a jacket. Wrapping his arms tighter around himself, he tried to stop his chattering teeth. Yami looked over at him, concerned. "Aibou, why don't you go into your soul room for a while? I'll tell you when we get home."

"B-but it's just as c-cold for you," Yugi protested.

"But I can walk a lot faster than you," Yami reminded him. Yugi nodded sheepishly and went back into his soul room. (A/N: I don't know if he vanishes like Yami does, but just work with me here. Anyone who goes into their soul room vanishes ok?)

Yugi opened his eyes and smiled. His soul room was one of his favorite places to be. After all, it was made just for hi. It was him. The comforting warm light engulfed him and he lay back on the small white bed. Toys littered the floor and he smiled happily as he looked at them.

He felt a tiny breath of wind and covered his arms. Wait a moment. There couldn't be wind in a soul room! He giggled at the thought of a drafty soul, but it was more nervous laughter than anything else. He rolled off the bed and crept cautiously toward the door of his soul room. A whisper stopped him in his tracks. "is your Yami here?"

Yugi spun around. Nothing seemed amiss. His soul room was as light and welcoming as ever. 'Oh great, I'm hearing voices. Does this mean I've officially lost it?' Shaking his head at himself, he reached again to pull the door open.

"Your Yami is here?" the whisper came again. The voice was light. It sounded innocent and curious, like a small child.

"Y-Yami?" Yugi whispered. "Is that you?" Only Yami could talk to him in his soul room, so it must be Yami, right?

"Your yami isn't here?" The voice whispered again, a little sad. Yugi tried to pull the door open and felt his heart skip a beat when he couldn't budge it. He tugged again, but to no avail.

"Your Yami isn't here?" the voice was less sad and slightly smug. That, more than anything, spurred Yugi on in his efforts to get the heck out of there!

"Yami!" he called, ramming his shoulder into the door. "Yami!"

"Your yami isn't here! Your yami isn't here?" The voice called again, chanting the same phrase over and over, sometimes wailing as if it's heart would break, other times almost singing.

"Stop it!" Yugi pleaded. "Let. Me. Out!" He punctuated each shout with a bang on the door. The door flew open and he stumbled out of his soul room, nearly falling as he reappeared next to Yami on his front porch.

"Aibou, you should have waited until we were inside to...hey, what's wrong?" Yami opened the door and light had fallen onto Yugi's pale face. The boys eyes were rimmed with tears and his small hands and arms were red from pounding on his door.

"Yugi! What happened? Why didn't you call me?" Yami demanded as he ushered Yugi inside.

"I tried." Yugi explained. "I think it was blocking my voice, my mind speak. And it said you were gone, and..." Yugi trailed off, shivering.

"Yugi, Yami tried to stay calm. "Tell me what happened." Yugi spoke quietly, trying to remember everything he could. Yami's eyes narrowed as he listened. Someone invading his Hikari's soul room? This was definitely going to stop. Yami was going to find out who had scared Yugi and send them so deep into the shadow realm not even the gods would find them. Yami smiled at the thought.

Realizing Yugi had fallen silent, Yami came out of the daydream and looked over. Yugi was curled up into a small ball on the couch, eyes closed in sleep. Yami debated waking him long enough to have him go sleep in bed, but Yugi looked oddly content, so instead Yami only laid a blanket over Yugi to ward off the cold.

/Goodnight, Aibou./ He smiled and disappeared into the puzzle. To be continued. Yea! It was long! Well, for me anyway. Do you like it? Flame if you dare, but be warned, they will be used to light the fuse of the bombs I throw back. Oh yeah, and I am on a slight...ok, more than slight, sugar high, so if I seem really weird:...HA! COOL! Review! Now! Please?

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	2. Author's Note:HELP ME!

HELP! I need names for my two new characters. I have names written in the paper version but let me be the first to say they kind of, well, stink. I'd really like to use whatever the words are for secret and story, but I have no idea what they are. Anyone know? Or have any other name suggestions? I'll type up my next chapter (which is pretty long by the way. Almost twice as long as the first chapter) now, but I'd really like better names before I post it. 


	3. What Makes a Shadow

Well, I was kinda hoping for some reviews here people. At the moment, I've got 1, count 'em 1. Excuse me while I go wallow in self pity. I do want to thank my reviewer, **Nightlight5**: I'm glad you like it and I hope you like this one too. J. This chapter's pretty long. I don't know if they'll all be this long, but maybe. I do want reviews this time though, ok?

By the way people, Nightlight5 wrote her own cool story. It's a Yugioh fic called _Back 2 the future_. I read what's posted so far and I really liked it. Check it out. 

Disclaimer: Why does this sign keep popping up? I thought we already discussed this. *sigh* Okay, fine. I don't own anything but the idea for the plot and two new characters. Those are mine, you wanna use, ask.

//..// Yami mind speak

/…/ Hikari mind speak

Ch. 2- What Makes a Shadow

            Yami woke to the sounds of the house being torn apart. He left the puzzle to find Yugi digging through drawers, couch cushions, and dumping out the contents of  his toy box. 

            //um, Yugi?// 

            /Where is it? Where is it?/ Yami heard Yugi mutter in his thoughts. 

            "Yugi, what are you looking for?" Yami tried again, out loud this time. He ducked a flying apple and wondered if it wouldn't be safer back in the puzzle. 

            "Oh, morning Yami." Yugi smiled as he poked his head out from the freezer and ran over to the sink, yanking the cupboard doors beneath it open.  "Do you have my backpack? I can't find my homework."

            "Oh. I'm sorry Yugi, it probably got left a the library." Yami dodged a flying bar of soap. 'Definitely safer in the puzzle.' He thought. Fortunately, Yugi stopped throwing stuff over his shoulder. 

            "Oh, that's right," he sighed in relief. "I can't believe I didn't think of that." He scurried around the room, trying to put the house back in order. 

            "One question, Aibou," Yami called to him. "_Why_ were you looking for your homework in the freezer?"

            Yugi got rather red in the face. "Well, I'd already checked the rest of the house," he muttered while Yami laughed. 

            "Don't worry Yugi, we'll go back to the library and pick it up later," Yami assured him. 

            "Ok, Yami." Yugi smiled at him as he stuffed a jar of pickles back into the fridge. A knock reverberated throughout the house. "I'll get it, Aibou," Yami called to Yugi. He pulled open the door and wasn't happy with what he found. 

            ""What do _you_ want?" Yami growled. 

            "Stuff the high-n-mighty act, pharaoh." Bakura glared back. "What the heck were you doing in Ryou's soul room last night?" He pointed to the small white-haired boy tucked behind him.

            "What?" Yami frowned. "Why would I be in Ryou's soul room?" 

            Bakura opened his mouth to answer, but Yugi who had peaked out form around Yami spoke up first. "Ryou, someone was in your soul room, too?" Ryou looked at Yugi and nodded. 

            "_Someone_, my butt!" Bakura yelled, glaring at Yami. "You're the only one I know who might have been able to do that."

            "But Bakura," Yugi cut off Yami's angry response. "What about the Key Shadii had?"

            "Shadii?" Yami thought about it for a second and in that second he and Bakura reached roughly the same conclusion: 'This is not going to be Shadii's day when I find him.'

 "Actually, I don't think it was him or Yami," Ryou said, cutting into Yami and Bakura's thoughts. "It didn't sound like either of them."

"You're right," Yugi agreed. "The voice was a bit younger…"

"And I think it was female." Ryou added thoughtfully. 

"Yeah, like a little girl or something."

"It could just be a boy with a high pitched voice."

"Are you two done yet?" Bakura demanded impatiently. "If the baka pharaoh didn't do it there's no reason to be here." Bakura grabbed Ryou and pretty much dragged him down the front steps to the sidewalk. 

"Bye, Yugi," Ryou called, wincing slightly as Bakura's fingers dug into the skin of his arm. Yugi waved sadly and slowly closed the door. "Poor Ryou. Why's Bakura so rotten to him? Ryou's really nice!"

"I'm not sure, Aibou." Yami shrugged as he started up breakfast. "I think he really does care about him but probably resents the emotion. Let's hope the baka tomb robber figures that out before Ryou decides to stop being so forgiving."

The clouds that had been brought in by the wind the night before were still looming over head as Yugi and Yami started off for the library once more. This time, of course, he managed to remember to bring a jacket. Yugi was walking with his face turned up, trying to make pictures out of the clouds. Yami couldn't seem to get the idea. 

"What's that one look like Yami?" Yugi pointed to one.

"…Ummmm…"

"Aww, come on, Yami. Look at it. I think it looks like …a dog!"

Yami blinked. "That looks nothing like a dog."

"Just use your imagination Yami." Yugi continued to stare at the clouds. Until…

"Aibou! There's a pole-" **_Clang! _**Yugi bounced off the pole, clutching his forehead. "Yugi are you ok?"

"Don't you dare laugh." Yugi demanded as the corners of Yami's mouth twitched. 

The library was fairly empty when they got there. Yugi headed straight for the table he'd fallen asleep at the night before. He sighed in relief as he found his notebook and backpack lying untouched by the vacant chair. He gathered his stuff up and turned to leave. 

"Yami, you're supposed to be quiet in a library!" someone hissed.

"Did you say something, Aibou?" Yami asked. Yugi shook his head, looking puzzled. Yami move toward where it sounded like the voice had come form. As they rounded the corner, they heard a light laugh and someone else chuckle. 

When they finally found them they saw two teenage girls browsing the bookshelves. The smaller one was crouched on the floor, trying to read the titles on the bottom shelf. She had dirty blonde hair and light grey green eyes. Just to her right, another girl that could have been her sister for so many similarities was leaning against the bookshelf, looking bored. He had nearly the same face as the girl on the floor, except her hair was a light brown and longer. In addition, she had pure jade eyes and probably would have been taller than her friend if they stood back to back. 

            "Hikari, do we _really_ need to do this?" the taller one pleaded with the one on the floor. 

'Hikari?' Yami's eyes widened. 'Is it possible?'

"Yes yami." The girl on the floor sighed. "I'm sorry you're bored, but-" She caught sight of Yugi and Yami and her eyes grew huge. Her face went from shocked ot joyful in seconds flat. Before Yugi knew what was happening, the girl had sprinted over and knocked him over with a hug. "Oh my gosh! Yugi! I can't believe this! I must be dreaming!" She released him only to hop around with joy. Yugi stared at her in shock, almost afraid to move in case she attacked. (A/N: Anyone else think this sounds like an encounter with a fangirl?) 

            "Uh, Kamui, I think you're scaring him." The other girl came up behind her, smirking. She grinned at a confused and scowling Yami. "Geeze Sunshine, you look happy as ever."

"I don't mean to be rude or anything," Yugi burst out, "But _who the heck are you_?"

The smaller girl stopped jumping around and turned to him surprised. She bit her lip and winced. "I guess you don't remember us, huh?" She looked downcast. 

"Don't pout, Story-teller. You didn't remember who _I_ was at first and _you're_ the one who keeps the story," the taller girl reassured her. 

"Oh. Right." She grinned sheepishly. She turned back to Yugi and yami and took a deep breath. "My name is Kamui. This," she gestured to the taller girl beside her, "is my Yami, Shion." 

"Nice to see you again, Yugioh," Shion grinned. 

"How do you know my Aibou and me?" he demanded. Shion rolled her eyes and Kamui smiled apologetically. 

"You don't have a very good memory, do you?" Shion accused. 

"Yami…" Kamui said in a pleading tone. 

"All right, Hikari, I'll be nice." Shion replied grudgingly. 

"It's not Yami's fault he can't remember much about Egypt!" Yugi defended him. Shion look amazed. 

"Hold a moment. You mean he can't even remember Egypt? Well no wonder he can't remember us!"

"I knew you two in Egypt?" Yami raised an eyebrow. 

"No, baka. We knew you _before_ Egypt." Shion snorted. There was a moment's silence while this sunk in. Yugi and Yami were becoming increasingly confused. 

"You weren't lost yet, when we knew you," Kamui added. Needless to say, this didn't exactly help their confusion. 

"Try explaining from the beginning," yami said through gritted teeth. 

"The beginning?" The two girls glanced at each other. "This could take awhile."

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

Quick Note: let's discuss the name confusion shall we? Ok, Yami will still be refered to as Yami in the narration, though Kamui and Shion refer to him as Yugioh when they speak. Kamui calls her own Yami: Yami. Ryou's Yami is known as Bakura. Ok? So it's:

**Hikari: Yami**

Yugi:   Yami (Yugioh)

Ryou:   Bakura

Kamui: Shion

Everybody got it or confused? Oh well, just go with it. 

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

After 15 minutes of debate and three cases of Hikaris using puppy eyes on their yamis, the foursome agreed that the whole story could be explained at Yugi's favorite burger place. Neither yami was hungry, but the two Hikaris both insisted on ordering before talking. Yugi ordered a burger and Kamui had three orders of fries. 

"Don't ask," Shion muttered when Yami raised an eyebrow at Kamui's choice. "Just thank the stars they don't sell candy canes."

"Alright, now will you explain?" Yami asked. Yugi looked over at Shion. She took a deep breath and began to talk. 

"Alright, no interruptions. In the space of time between the beginning of earth and ,well, time, 4 lights and darkness were created."

"Four Hikaris and Yamis?" Yugi piped up. Shion nodded. 

"As hard as this may be to believe, you and Yugioh were one of those four pairs. Kamui and I were another. The third was-"

"Ryou and Bakura," Yami finished. 

"You remember them?" Shion asked, surprised. 

"They're in the area, actually." Yami explained. 

"No kidding!" Shion's brow furrowed in thought for a moment. Then she straightened and continued. "Anyway, each light and darkness had both a physical representative light and a balance to preserve. I know this is kind of confusing, so let me give you an example. Yugi," she pointed at him, "is represented by the sun. Yami, you in turn are represented by all shadows and darkness that exist or are created during the day. I bet you'd guess the balance you two preserve if given the chance, but in the interest of time, I'm just going to tell you. You two are supposed to be preserving the balance between justice," she pointed at Yami, "And mercy." She pointed to Yugi. "Any questions?"

Yugi blinked. This was a little much to absorb in one go. First he finds yet another person with a Yami and now he's being told that he existed before the before the earth? So much for homework this weekend.

"If we're justice and the sun and all that," Yugi asked, "what are you guys?"

"My Hikari is represented by the moon ," shion explained as kamui smiled. "Between us, we keep the balance between stories, that's her, and secrets, that's me. That's why we remember. When I finally found my Hikari, I taught her how to go into her soul room. As Storyteller, she was able to find her own story among all the others she keeps in her room and regain her memories."

"The only part we can't find is what happened to the fourth pair of Hikari and Yami," Kamui interrupted. "Also, aside form the fact that it had something to do with the creation of the shadow realm, we don't know why all the pairs were split up and sent to earth."

"The Shadow Realm caused this?" Yami asked.

"We think so. Speaking of the shadow realm, I need to speak to you, Yugioh." Shion looked at him. 

"Secrets, Yami?" Kamui looked at Shion reproachfully. 

"I'm sorry, storyteller, but I really do need to speak to him." 

Kamui sighed. "Come on Yugi. The secret-keeper can't seem to enjoy herself without a secret. Let's go to the sweetshop across the road." The two left and yami turned to Shion. "Do we really want to let them go into a sugar store unsupervised?"

"I don't want my hikari to hear what I have to tell you. You can choose to tell yours later, but frankly I don't want mine scared out of her wits." Shion snapped. 

"What do you need to tell me that your own hikari can't hear?"

"What's your hikari's worst fear?" she asked him. 

Yami thought for a moment. "That his friends would get hurt or that I would abandon him, even though he knows its impossible for a yami to _want_ to leave their hikari."

"Which is why I think its best they not be here when I tell you what happened when one did."

"What?!" Yami yelled. The entire restaurant stared. Yami and Shion glared around the room until they all returned to their own conversations. "A yami purposefully abandoned their hikari?" he lowered his voice this time. 

Shion nodded, her eyes blazing. "My hikari didn't find it in her soul room because it's in _my_ soul room."

"It's a secret then?" Yami asked. 

"_My_ secret." Shion nodded. "What happened is something along the lines of this: the fourth pair-I couldn't find any names- were the guardians of the balnce of chance and fate. I don't know why and frankly I don't want to, but the fire yami (they were the light and darkness of flame) felt that her life would be more in her control if she weren't connected to her hiker, who held the fate side of the balance. Yugioh, she…" Shion swallowed, trying to force the words out. Yami watched as she seemed to be almost in physical pain and began to fear what would be said. 

"Yugioh, the fire yami _literally_ _cut_ the bond between them, tearing her lights soul into tatters in the process."

Yami felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. How could someone do something like that to their hikari? He winced and ground his teeth in anger. 'How could they?!' He pulled himself form his shock as Shion began to speak again. 

"When that happened, both the fire yami and hikari were sort of…twisted. They no longer had each other and when there's no light, there's no darkness and vise versa. There's only-"

"Shadow," Yami finished. "They became the Shadow Realm."

Shion nodded. "Well, they began it anyway. It seems to have been growing while were gone."

"How did we leave? I mean, how did we wind up on earth with no or little memory? Why was I in Egypt?" Yami pressed her.

"I'm getting to that. Now, when those two became the shadowed, all balances were thrown into chaos. The other three hikaris, Yugi included, seemed to be affected first, as though they could _feel_ the fourth light's pain. Perhaps that's why Kamui's always so afraid of me leaving her…" Shion trailed off. 

"Continue." Yami growled, not really wanting to dwell on the thought of of his Aibou in such torment. Shion growled back, but continued. 

"Our three Hikaris were pulled into the shadows that began to grow form where that blasted Yami had cut his and his hikari's bond. You and Bakura dove after them while I tried to reach mine through our soul rooms. The only thing I can imagine happened after that is that you must have all gotten lost in time when I got locked in my soul room. I didn't manage to get out until about a year ago. I found my hikari and showed her  her own soul room as proof of who I was. Of course, I wasn't entirely sure myself of what was going on until I found the secret and she found the story. Those two things along with what was left of my memory helped me piece it all together. 

"You know what we have to do now right?" Yami asked.

"Find the fire yami and kick her butt?" Shion suggested hopefully. 

"We have to find Bakura and Ryou and let them know what's going on." Yami corrected her.

"I like my idea better." Shion grumbled. 

"So do I," Yami admitted. "I'm sure we can fit that in too."

"So we get to go visit Bakura," Shion mused. "Peachy. Is he a big a pain in the butt as I remember?"

"Better believe it." Yami groaned. "Just this morning he was accusing me of-" Yami stopped. Something clicked in his mind. "Yugi's soul room."

"Whaa?" Shion looked at him weird. 

"Someone was talking to Yugi in his soul room last night. Bakura said someone was in Ryou's room. In both cases the voice said the same thing: that Yugi and Ryou's yamis weren't there anymore."

"Aww crap. I was hoping Kamui had simply had a nightmare. This can't be good. Only a Yami or a hikari can get into another's soul room."

"Shadii had a key he used. The millennium Key," Yami pointed out. 

 "It must have used powers form the Shadow Realm which used to be a Yami and Hikari." Shion reasoned. Her eyes became slits and turned a brighter green. "If that bloody fire Yami comes within three miles of my hikari…" she let the threat hang. 

Yami pounded on the table. "What would she want with out hikaris? She didn't want her own!" 

"Balance." Shion whispered. "Don't you see? If it can separate another pair of Yami and hikari, they will become shadows too, and be large and strong enough to tip the balance and break the bond that you and whoever else placed on them when you sealed them with the millennium items. 

"Oh Ra." Yami breathed. "It wants to tear Yugi and me apart? I WON'T ALLOW IT!"

"Well, _DUH_!" Shion hissed. "But don't tell your hikari unless you feel you have to. The fear would be crazy and I'm afraid it would trigger the memories of how it flet before, when the dark and light were cut apart."

Yami nodded. "Lets go pick up Yugi and Kamui and pay Bakura a visit."

"Yeah. Hey Yugioh? What kind of sweets are in that shop?" 

"Huh? Oh, the shop they went into has all kinds of chocolate and sugar and holiday candies and-"

"H-Holiday candies?" Shion squeaked. "Oh no! MY HIKARI'S BUYING CANDY CANES!!" A look of pure horror raced over her face as she rushed out. "Come on Yugioh! We've got to go prevent an early apocalypse!" 

**        *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

Wow! That was a long chapter. Please don't assume all chapters will be this long. They might be, but I doubt it. Especially not if you want me to update on a regular basis.             

So, how'd I do? The next chapter will probably be more light-hearted, at least in the beginning for sure. I'd really like some reviews here people, so I'm not up dating so fast next time. So let's all press the little blue button that says go and write something. 

Warning: flames will be used to light the fuses of bombs I throw back. 


	4. SugarHikarisPoor Yamis

Sorry for the wait, people. It wasn't my fault, really! How about you all tell my school to stop assigning so much homework, ok? Please? Anyway, without further, um, whatever, chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I own Yugioh as much as I own the Empire State Building. Clear enough?

Chapter 3- Sugar+Hikaris=Poor Yamis

            Yami and Shion raced across the street, aggravating several drivers and one teen on a motorcycle in the process. The brightly painted store stood quietly in the light, looking deceptively peaceful. Yami noticed the slight bead of sweat on Shion's forehead as they neared the store. 

            'What's she so worried about? It's only a candy store for Ra's sake! A candy store shouldn't be dangerous, right? On the other hand, Yugi gets pretty hyper when he gets a piece of candy. So, Yugi with a whole store full of sugar would mean…' Yami paled. (A/N: Wouldn't you?)

            The shop owner was cowering under the counter pulling his hair out when they entered. "Have you seen two teens come by here?" Shion asked quickly. "They look like, um…us." The shopkeeper looked up. 

            "They're over there. I promise not to press charges for damages, just get them _out _of here!" he pleaded.  

            A joyful giggle sounded fro the isle way and two candy-covered Hikaris dashed out and raced around the room pelting each other with candy. Yugi was draped with candy necklaces and Kamui was clutching an armful of candy canes like her life depended on it. They bounced around the room like they were made of rubber. Shelves toppled in their wake and customers ran for cover. Yami heard Shion gulp and mutter "Oh Story-teller, not again!"

            "Ok, I'll grab my Hikari and you grab yours, okay?" Yami whispered to Shion. 

            "Deal." Shion took a deep breath. "Okay, here we go!"

Yami's Chase:

            Yami saw his Aibou round the corner and sprinted after him. A squealing Yugi scrambled madly down the isle, "accidentally" knocking over a bunch of gumballs. 

            Yami's eyes widened as he watch the little candy covered balls cover his path, but he had built up way too much steam to stop. His feet flew out from under him and Yami had the less than dignified experience of somersaulting down the isle into a display of caramel candies. 

            Once the room stopped spinning, Yami managed to get right-side up in time to see Yugi fall into a barrel of brightly wrapped taffy. 'Ha! I've got him now!' Yami smirked. 

            He crept up to the barrel. He could hear Yugi's happy giggling from inside. He crept closer…nearly there…

            "WEEEEE!" Yugi burst out of the barrel like a jack-in-the-box. Yami grabbed for him, but only clutched air. 'Not again!' he thought as he once more lost his balance on the scattered candy. This time, though, he didn't meet the wall, but ended up diving into the barrel Yugi had just left. The unexpected weight made the barrel topple over and a very unhappy Yami was obliged to go with it. 

            "Yaaaooof!" he grunted as he hit the floor. Leaping to his feet, he ran in the direction of his giggling and madly hyper hikari. "Yugi! Come on! We're going home!"

            "Noooo!" Yugi protested as he hid under a table of licorice. "More sugar!"

            "Uh, NO!" Yami said. "you're covered in sugar, Aibou. Let's get you home."

            "Idunmannaidunwannanononono…" Yugi dove away from Yami, leaping over terrified customers. The smart ones got out of the way fast. The dumb ones felt like they'd been run over by a freight train. The _really _dumb ones who still remained in the way were further trampled by Yami as he chased his crazed hikari. 

            "When I catch Yugi he's never going to _see_ sugar again," Yami vowed. 

            "Colored SUGAR!" came a gleeful yell. 

            'Oh dear Ra, he's found the pixie sticks.' Yami paled again. That meant pure sugar. 

            //Aibou! Don't!// Yami pleaded. He felt a wave of HAPPY-HYPER flow through their link with the tiniest touch of confusion. 

            /How come, Yami?/ his hikari asked in like a small child. 'Maybe if I can confuse him for two more seconds…' Yami though desperately. //Because, um, the yellow dragon in the sofa cushions said so.// Yami made up on the spot. 

            /Huh?/ Yugi wondered, though a second later Yami dived on top of him and wrestled the sugar from his grasp. 

            "SUGAR!" Yugi cries. Ignorign the small boy's pleas, Yami threw him over his shoulder and marched out of the store to the customers' tumulus applause. 

Shion's Chase:

            "Kamui! Get back here!" Shion demanded as she chased her hikari. 

            "Nonononono…" Kamui chanted as she scrambled fore safety. She leapt up into her little nest of candy canes. Shion grabbed her ankles and attempted to pull her out. Kamui kicked insanely, holding onto the shelf of candy canes like it was her lifeline. 

            "Hikari!" Shion grunted. "Let go!"

            "No! My Candy canes! Mine! Lemmiego!" Kamui pulled at the shelf and kicked again. Stepping on one of the falling candy canes, Shion's foot flew out form under her and she let go from surprise. 

            Gathering as many of the candy canes under one arm as humanly possible, or maybe more than humanly possible, Kamui climbed _up_ the shelf until she stood on the top. 

            "You squished a candy cane!" Kamui cried unhappily when she looked down to see what had caused Shion to fall. Shion glared and looked up to climb the shelf after her. With a yelp, Kamui ran lightly on top of the shelf, still clutching a bunch of candy canes with one tucked behind each ear. 

            Not having ingested a million tons of sugar, Shion was slightly more rational when it came to running along the top of the shelf. "Storyteller, get your butt back on the ground this instant!" Shion hissed in her best no nonsense voice. Unfortunatly, Kamui wasn't buying it. 

            "No! You wanna take my candycanes!" 

            "Don't be ridiculous, Kamui!" Shion snapped. She really was worried her hikari would fall and would be to under the influence of sugar to catch herself. 

            "Oh kamui," she called sweetly. "I see a candy cane you dropped."

            "Where?!" kamui looked panicked around her feet in case she stepped on the precious striped candy. 

            "Gotcha!" Shion scooped her up much like Yami had scoope dup Yugi and likewise threw Kamui over her shoulder. Unfortunately, this threw the shelf rather off balance. 'Oh, crud.' The shelf groaned and took a dive. Shion jumped clear with her hikari. The shelf landed on another one, and like a row of dominoes, the shelves all over the store fell one after another. Shion winced, hoping Yugi and Yami had gotten outside. 

            Once outside, she spotted Yami still trying to keep Yugi from rushing back into the store.  Once he stopped trying to run, Yugi instead turned to Yami and began chattering nonstop. "YamiguesswhatmeandKamuiwentinsideandfoundaBIGstackofcandycanesbutshetookthemalland then I went to find more and I did…but you..(yawn)…came and…" Yami caught him as he fell asleep. He looked up as a very grumpy Shion walked over. 

            "Oh good. Both Hikaris seem to be asleep," she said, relieved. You should probably take Yugi home and let him sleep. I'm going to dump Kaui on the grass in the park and hope she's sane upon waking."

            "Why are you taking her to the park?" Yami asked curiously. 

"It's Saturday," Shion said shortly. Her tone did not invite a continuation of the conversation. Yami didn't care. 

            "And…?" Yami prompted. She glared a him. He waited patiently. Grumbling, she finally admitted defeat and told him. "Fine. She and her brother arranged long ago who got the house which days while her father is gone and she won't let me break her promise."

            "Her _brother_ won't let her in the house?" Yami frowned. 

            "It's not quite that simple." She began to walk in the direction of the park. Yami followed, a sleeping Yugi still carried over his shoulder. 

            "Her brother's in trouble he can't seem to get out of. Kamui knows this, but she's grown up with her brother as her hero and still can't imagine he'd do something realy wrong. To his credit, he hasn't told the people he's 'involved' with that he has a sister, to protect her, and to keep up appearances, there are certain times when she can't go home. I think he does it because he wants to make sure she doesn't get hurt, but part of me thinks he just doesn't want her around."

            Shion spoke through gritted teeth. Yami looked away, thinking. Yugi would be useful awake in this situation. He was much better at comforting people than Yami and Shion was definitely distressed by the topic. 

            "If you let me know when you wan to meet, Yugioh," Shion continued, "I'll come by in a few hours when Kamui has woken up and we'll go see Ryou and Bakura."

            "You believe it is a good thing to trust our Hikaris, right Shion?" Yami switched subjects abruptly. 

            "Um, yes?" Shion answered suspiciously. 

            "Well, if my Hikari were awake, he'd be insisting that you Kamui on our couch, rather than the park, especially since it's been threatening to rain all day."

            Shion looked at Yami, then the sleeping Kamui, then the sky, then Yugi. "Crud. You're probably right. I don't like favors, but I guess I owe you one. Lead on, Yugioh." She scowled at the clouds, but Yami could tell she was greatful. 

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

            Well, how was it. Please review, people. I will update this, but I want at least five reviews before this weekend, ok? Criticize, but do it politely. Flames will be used to light the bombs I throw back. 


	5. kamui's Soul Room

Hey people. I didn't get my five reviews. *sniff, sniff*Actually, Its just my excuse for mnot updating for forever. Chances are you wan to know what comes next, not hear me ramble, right? Ok, then: on with the story!

Disclaimer: If you sue me, all you'll get is a head ache. I don't own it.

Help Wanted! Anyone know what Bakura or Ryou's soul rooms look like? Or should I make it up as I go?

Chapter 4- Kamui's Soul Room

            Yugi was the first to wake up. He was lying on his bed, which confused him for a moment. 'How did I get here? What time is it?' He looked down and saw not his PJs, but is regular clothes. 'Well I guess that rules out it all having been a dream.' He suddenly remembered the candy store. 

            'uh oh.' He thought guiltily. 'I wonder how many casualties there were this time.' He spotted Yami and smiled. Yami was asleep in the chair by the desk. Quietly, he exited the room and stole downstairs. 

            He was slightly surprised to find Shion and Kamui sleeping downstairs. They were both curled up into small balls on either end of the couch. With how much they looked alike and how similar their positions were, it looked like someone had stuck a mirror in the middle of the couch and one was just the reflection of the other. 

            Kamui stretched and got up. With most closed eyelids, she walked past Yugi, apparently not seeing him, and straight into the wall. 

            "Ow!" She opened her eyes, completely woken up this time. "Who moved the hallway?" Blinking, she turned and saw Yugi. "Yugi?" She looked around. "This isn't my house is it?"

            Yugi shook his head, trying with all his heart not to burst out laughing. 

            "Well that explains where the hallway went." Kamui yawned. "Where are we?"

            "This is my house." Yugi explained. "Shion and Yami must've brought us here."

            "Aww man." Kamui suddenly had a guilty look similar to Yugi's. "Did we cause any damage?"

            "I can't remember," Yugi winced. "Do you?"

            "I remember one highly freaked out manager," Kamui supplied. "We're probably banned for life."

            "And the next life too," Yami added as he came down the stairs. "I called Bakura on the phone," he directed his last comment to Shion, who had just woken up. "He wasn't happy with us coming over, to say the least."

            "Well this isn't going to be his day, is it?" Shion stretched. "Come on Kamui. We're going to go pay Ryou and Bakura a visit." 

            "Coming." Kamui picked up a candy cane that had fallen out of her pocket while she was sleeping and shoved it in her pocket before Shion could see. Yugi stifled a laugh. 

            The clouds were still hanging low over the sky, but it hadn't started raining yet, fortunately. The two sets of twins attracted dozens of stares as they walked. Kamui obviously hated it. "Would you like to go in your soul room for a while?" Shion finally asked as Kamui squirmed under the gaze of yet another carload of strangers. 

            Kamui nodded gratefully. Yami offered the same to Yugi who accepted. Making sure they were unobserved, both Hikari's suddenly vanished. Shion and Yami walked in silence for a few moments, until Shion spoke up. "Yugioh, I've been thinking. Bakura was kind of an idiot when it came to his Hikari as far as I can remember, which honestly isn't much. On the other hand, the story my hikari found in her soul room seems to say he didn't change much."

            "He hasn't and he is still an idiot," Yami confirmed. "You're afraid he might agree with the fire Yami's point of view, aren't you?"

            "Yeah. I don't really think he would but it's so hard to tell with such limited memories. You've known him in this life time. What do you think?"

            Yami was quiet for a moment. "I honestly don't know." He said finally. 

(A/N: Vote! What are people's opinions? Would he tear himself from Ryou for basically unlimited access to all the powers of the shadow realm? Don't guess what I'm going to do, just base it on his personality.)

            Yugi, meanwhile, had no idea his Yami was contemplating the possible  escape of the shadow realm. He was just relaxing. His soul room did wonders for his peace of mind, but he couldn't help remembering the creepy voice he had heard last time.           

            He nearly fell off the bed when there was a soft knock at the door. Feelign foolish for being so jumpy, he hopped off the bed and went over to the door to let Yami in. Except, when he pulled the door open, it wasn't Yami on the other side.

            "Kamui?!?" he shouted.

            "Hi Yugi!" She said happily, giving a little wave. "I'm trying to see if I have any more stories that'll tell us more about the other Yami and Hikari, but it's taking forever. Mind giving me a hand?"

            "Um, sure, but how did you get here?" Yugi asked. 

            "I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "I was in the hallway between mine and my Yami's soul room and I was wondering if there was a way to contact you. Then all of a sudden a door appeared down the hall way. Your door apparently."

            "Well that's useful." Yugi smiled. "I'll be glad to help. Um, how do we get there?"

            "Look," she pointed down the hallway. Sure enough, there was something he'd never seen before: two doors opposite each other farther down the hall. 

            Yugi went down the hall with Kamui, looking curiously  at the door. The one on the same side of the hallway as his had a large silver crescent moon carved onto it with an open eye in the center. Leafy green vies crept all over the door. The opposite was similar, but different. The moon on the other was also silver, but the eye on the center was closed. Instead of vines, raindrops covered the remainder of the door. 

            Kamui pushed open the first door. Yugi looked in and his eyes grew wide. The room was almost as well lit as his own, but this room was bathed in the silver glow of moonlight rather than sunlight. A woven white hammock hung from the ceiling and silvery-white vines ran haphazardly over the walls. The thing that caught Yugi's gaze the most though, was the fireflies. At least, that's what he thought they were at first. 

            On closer inspection, he saw they weren't bugs, but simply tiny points of floating light. They swirled everywhere around the room, some in groups, others dancing alone. The odd thing was, sometimes one or two would fade in and out of existence.

            "What are they?" Yugi asked as one circled his head. 

            "They're stories of course." Kamui giggled as one zipped by her. "The bright ones are the ones that really came from or touched a person's soul. There's even moer that are here that you can't see because they didn't touch a soul deep enough to shine very brightly."

            "Why do some of them fade?" he asked her. 

            "Because stories disappear when no one cares any longer." She said simply. 

            "So how do you find the story you want?" he asked after a moment of silence.

            "You have to focus on what you want and the story _should _come to you." She pouted for a moment. "Though _some_ of them seem to be developing a stubborn streak." Yugi laughed as she mock-glared at the small particles of light. "Maybe they'll listen to you. You are the Sun Hikari after all."

            Yugi squirmed, embarrassed, but agreed to try. He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on the shadow realm and the relationship between a hikari and a yami. 

            "Oh, I think you've got something," he heard Kamui whisper happily. He cracked an eye open. A lone light had broken away from the others and was hovering by his left eye, waiting patiently to be acknowledged. 

            Kamui walked over and gently opened her hand. "Open," she requested softly as she touched it. There was a flash and it transformed into a single piece of paper. Kamui took it form the air. "It's not a story. It's like a poem," she explained after looking at it. She handed it too him. Thin, flowing writing shimmered with each line in a stanza a different color: Gold, white, silver, and blue.

Light and Dark: the two undying

Holding tight the earth below

Holding fast the bond unbreaking

See the strength between them flow

Pure sweet notes of flowing darkness

At this point the page ended. Kamui had a puzzled frown. "This is very odd. It looks like there should be more to it, but nothings on the back and there are no other pages."

            Yugi shrugged. Maybe the author didn't get a chance to finish it."

            "Yugi, look. It's about us and our yamis, I know it!" she said excitedly. "It's not what I was looking for exactly, but it's got to be important right?" She re-read it, committing it to memory. "Come on! Let's go tell Shion and Yugioh!" she released the paper and it shrunk one more to a tiny ball of light. 

            /Yami?/ Yugi called silently. 

            //Aibou?// Yami asked. //Are you okay? Is the voice back?//

            /Calm down, Yami/ Yugi laughed. /Kamui and I found something in her soul room that may be important. Can we come out?/

            //No ones here// Yami assured him. //You can come out.//

            "Yami says we can come out," said both hikaris at the same time. Grinning, they both appeared beside their prospective yamis. 

            "So what's wrong, story-teller?" Shion asked as they appeared. 

            "We found a poem in my story collection." Kamuitold her. 

            "So? You get stories, novels, poems, songs, all kinds of thing in there."

            "Just listen to this one," Kamui insisted. She recited the poem for Shion and Yami. "I think it's talking about us. The only thing is, it seemed like it was going to continue onto another stanza, but it didn't."

            Shion shrugged. "We'll figure it out later. I think we're here. This is the house you said, right Yugioh?" They stopped in front of a neatly trimmed yard that led up to a small gray house.

            "This is it," yami confirmed. He rapped solidly on the door. Ryou soon appeared and he smiled at them. "Hi Yugi and Yami. Hi, um…" he faltered a bit when he saw Kamui and Shion. Comprehension dawned on his face when he realized how similar they were. "I don't suppose you guys are simply twins?" he smiled. 

            "Nope!" Kamui grinned back at him. "I'm Kamui and this is my yami, Shion." She pointed to the smirking girl beside her. 

            "Guys, I'd love to invite you in, but I'm pretty sure he's about to go postal. He went outside earlier today and by the time he'd gotten home, he'd had a girl in pigtails bounce of his head, a panda run him over, a guy with dogs ears knock him over, and a giant boomerang nearly skewer him."

            (A/N: I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist throwing all that in.)

            As if on cue, a familiar voice sounded from inside. "Ryou! Is it that baka pharaoh? Tell him to get his butt out of here before I use it for anger management!"

            Shion squeezed past her hikari and was in the house before Ryou could react. "Bakura!" she answered him in the same tone of voice. "Get _your_ but down _here!_ Or are you hiding from the night?"

            Bakura strode in from the kitchen and raised an eyebrow. "Who the heck are you supposed to be? And what do you freakin' mean hiding form the night. I've been in darker places than your mind could imagine. I practically _am_ the dark."

            Shion tsked, shaking her head. "Conceited as ever. Actually you're the dark around the stars, but you wouldn't know that would you? Know why? 'Cause your yelling your bloody head off at me 'n' Yugioh instead of listening to us."

            Bakura pause and looked over at the others. "Pharaoh, is she really insane, odr is this 'Annoy Bakura Day'?"

            "Shion, meet the Tomb Robber and vice versa," yami rolled his eyes as Yugi covered a laugh. "Have a seat Bakura. This could take a while and we aren't leaving you to your self pity until you shut up and listen." Yami hesitated then turned to Ryou. "Bakura can fill you in later. Why don't you let Kamui and Yugi show you what they found?"

            Ryou nodded, feeling rather left. Guilt pierced Yami, but he and Shion had to talk to Bakura alone.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

Alright! Another chapter done. Yes, I'm slow. Yes, you have to get over it. I really am sorry. Especially to my constant reviewers. You guys rock!

I've written the chapters up to 6 so far, but I still need to type them. I'll try to work on that this weekend. 


	6. Earning Trust

Whoa, sorry for not updating for so long guys. I'd like to say I have a really good excuse, but I don't. Except homework. Lots of homework believe me. And the band went to Disneyland! So cool! Anyways, here's the chapter:

Wait a sec. You guys need to let me know if I'm (a. making the characters OOC, or (b. neglecting a group, okay?

Disclaimer: two words: nope!

Ch. 5- Earning Trust

            The discussion took surprisingly less time than Yami had figured. Bakura fought quite a bit less than normal, maybe because he was out numbered two to one. At the end he had a question. 

            "So if You're sun and justice and _You're_ moon and secrets, what the heck am I supposed to be?"

            In Kamui's soul room, Ryou was asking the same question. The three of them were sitting in the hammock that hung from the ceiling. Yugi in the middle, Ryou lying back, and Kamui snuggling a small stuffed animal shaped like a wolf cub. Yugi and Kamui had been telling Ryou all they knew about the situation. 

            "Let's see," Kamui pondered for a moment. "I think your representative light was the stars: bigger than they appear and seriously far reaching."

            "And the balance?" Ryou asked curiously. 

            "I think you were selflessness or something. You know, where a person looks out for others before themselves. Your Yami is sort of like ruthlessness. In other words, overcoming all obstacles in an effort of self-preservation. Don't get me wrong, that's not a _bad_ thing, it just needs its balance like everything else."

            Humming happily, she hugged the little wolf toy to her and leaned back on the hammock, which seemed to expand to fit all of them comfortably. 

            They all sat in silence for a while, just thinking and letting the significance of the events all sink in. Ryou was the first to break the silence. "The voice that was in your soul room hasn't come back, has it?"

            "You guys too?" Kamui sat up. "Shion had just about convinced me it was all a dream."

            "We could always be suffering from mass hallucination," Yugi laughed, but his heart wasn't in it. "So now what guys? If we're supposed to be protecting various balances in the earth, how do we do that?" He and Ryou both turned to Kamui. 

            "Don't look at me!" She held up her hands defensively. "I jus tell stories, I don't predict the future." 

            "I wonder if Yami's done yet." Yugi wondered aloud. "Let's go check on them!" He hoppe doff the hammock. The sudden change in weight flipped it and the other two found themselves on the ground as well. 

            "Let's try a warning next time, Yugi," Ryou laughed as he picked himself off the floor. All three left the soul room and each reappeared by their respective yamis. They were just in time to hear Yami telling heatedly at Bakura. 

            "…so if you even think about using him the way that blasted-"

            "Hi Kamui, hi Yugi. Finished talking to Ryou?" Shion cut Yami off. Yami looked up and realized what he'd been about to say. He searched Yugi's face, trying to figure out how much he'd heard. 

            "Yami, what's going on?" Yugi asked slowly, recognizing the heightening tension. Yami cursed silently. Should he tell Yugi? He wanted him to be prepared, but not afraid. 

            "Me too, secret-keeper?" Kamui asked softly. "I thought you were done keeping secrets from _me_, at least." She looked sadly at Shion. Shion looked at her helplessly. 

            "Kamui, I just…"

            "We didn't want to frighten you, Yugi," Yami tried to explain. "It's not that we wanted to keep a secret from you. Never that. I was afraid that you would remember and the burden would be too great…that you would be hurt and in a situation where I couldn't help."

            "It's _my_ past, too,  Yami," Yugi reminded him softly. "You _can't_ protect me. Not this time."

            "I should be able to protect you always," Yami scowled. "That was my duty and promise."

            "Secrets won't keep Yugi, Ryou, or me safe," Kamui jumped in. "What if we did something that put us in danger simply because we didn't know any better?"

            "Tell them," Bakura crossed him arms. "If you don't I will. You may be afraid, but I'm not. I refuse to coddle my hikari like a china doll."

            Yami glared daggers at Bakura who looked decidedly unimpressed. Shion, being slightly less subtle about it waked him upside the head. "Hey, what was that for?" Bakura demanded while fighting the urge to kill her outright. 

            "For finally being right at a _really_ inconvenient time," Shion sighed. Then she began to speak. Her voice was soft, but with the stillness in the room she was heard as well as she would have been if she'd shouted. She told them of finding the secrets in her room and of the fire yami's betrayal. When she told them how the fire yami had cut his hikari's soul from him, Yugi farther into the couch he was seated on with his eyes screwed shut. He reached out and gripped yami's arm, as thought to convince him he was still there. Ryou looked as if he might have like to do the same, but wasn't willing to chance Bakura's wrath. 

            //Yugi, I'd never do something like that// Yami's voice flowed through their link. 

            /I know, Yami/ Yugi reassured him. He stopped attempting to crush Yami's arm, but didn't let go completely. Shion continued until she had told them everything, _except_ their fears concerning Bakura. 

            There was silence in the room as the story ended. They simply breathed. It was all they could do. No explanations were needed as they left. Ryou, Yugi, and Kamui needed to absorb the new information and only time could help that. 

            Kamui told Shion she wanted to go home so Yugi and Yami walked to the game shop alone. Yami longed to know how his hikari was feeling about all thins, but was hesitant to probe their link. "Do you forgive me?" he asked when he could stand the silence no longer/ 

            Yugi looked at him, surprised. "Don't be silly Yami. You haven't done anything wrong." 

            "I kept a secret from you," Yami reminded him.

            "But you were trying to protect me. I would rather you not do it again, of course, but I understand."

            "You don't…remember, do you Yugi?" Yami asked hesitantly. 

            Yugi shook his head. "No, but I almost feel as though I _could_ remember, if I tried hard enough." 

            "Don't." Yami said shortly. "Its occurrence caused the separation of all the hikaris and yamis once. There's no need for you to experience it again."

            "I know." The Yugi's face broke into a grin. "You know what would help right now?"

            "Burgers?" Yami guessed. 

            "Burgers," Yugi agreed. 

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Ryou sat dejectedly at the kitchen table. Bakura looked over at him and opened his mouth to speak. Nothing even vaguely appropriate came to mind, so he shrugged and turned back to the TV. 

            There was no use trying to watch it. It could have announced that ducks had colonized mars and he wouldn't have noticed. All his questions about the shadow realm, all his plots to steal the power Yami wielded, all of that had been effectively turned to mud. He now knew, _knew_, how to finally be granted all the power he longed for. 

            All it cost was half his soul. The half that was seated not too far from him, pretending in vain to study like nothing had happened. 

            'A devil's deal,' Bakura thought as he flipped blindly through the channels. Ryou knew of ht struggle taking place in his Yami. How could he not? And yet he chose to remain.

            'He trusts me,' Bakura thought. 'He shouldn't but he does,' Bakura wanted ot know why, to grab Ryou by the shoulders and shake him until he told Bakura why_. Why, Why?_ He wanted to demand_. Why do you trust me when you know me so? When you know what I did, who I was…_

Bakura stopped. Was that really it? Was because the part of him Ryou should be afraid of was who he was before? Did it no longer exist? Was that what kept Ryou from running so far that his yami couldn't follow?

            'He can't depend on that,' Bakura thought angrily. 'How can he know what I'd do? I don't even know what I'd do…' Bakura let the thought roll around in his mind. 'I don't know what I'd do.'

            He starred at Ryou's unprotected, unwatched back and a wave of sorrow hit him. For a second the emotion was so alien he assumed it had come from his link with Ryou. With a shock he realized it came from himself. _He _was the sad one. 

            "What kind of weakling have I become?" he muttered aloud. Unable to bear it, he disappeared into his soul room. 

            Ryou gave no indication that he knew his Yami was gone, gave no outward sign that that he had heard his yami's muttered self-scolding. But he had.  "You're no weakling Bakura," he answered the empty room. A heartfelt smile fell to his face. He trust had not been misguided. 

            He knew what Bakura would do. 

            Or perhaps he only hoped strong enough that he thought he did. 

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

Yea! I typed it all up. Here's a quick preview of next time:

"I said show yourself!"

            "Such a temper," the voice tsked. A shadow grew near the door. Out of the depths glided a young woman…

Wanna know what happens next? If so, review!


	7. Sowing the Seeds of Shadows

Okay, now I'm really disappointed. I got two reviews for my last chapter! Two! I kinda hoped more people than that were reading my story. I'm kind of thinking of starting something else. See, I have a major problem with finishing things. I never do. I really think I can finish this one because I've already got the end planned out (roughly), but I'm not going to bother posting here if no ones going to read it. 

To the ones who did review, especially nightlight, thank you!

Ch. 6- Sowing the seeds of Shadows

            Bakura slammed his fist into the wall of his sol room. Cursing, he tried to figure out what was wrong with himself. Obviously, he must have gone insane. 

            If not that, then what was keeping him from leaping at this opportunity? Cursing fluently in every language he knew even vaguely, he nearly missed the voice. 

            "so tha dark side of the stars has grown soft," came a call. The voice was bright and at the same time hard and cold. 

            "Who the heck are you?" Bakura demaned even though he already had a fairly good idea.         

"An old friend shouldn't have to give her name," the voice sighed. "Am I really that forgettable, what was it they're calling you now? Ah, yes, tomb Robber. Lovely little name the sun yami has given you." 

            "Shut up! Show yourself," Bakura growled. 

            "Do you really want me to?" the voice sounded highly amused, but did not appear.

            "I said show yourself!"

            "Such a temper!" the voice tsked. A shadow grew near the door. Out of its depths glided a young woman, soft brown hair thrown around her face like she'd been in a hurricane and cold blue eyes that seemed like they could burn a hole in cement. 

            'Why do I feel like I'm looking at Seto's feminine side?' Bakura fought back an insane giggle. A giggling little boy was _not_ the image he was going for. Instead, he put on an unimpressed face and raised an eyebrow. "So this is the failed fire yami. I'd say it was a pleasure, but it's not worth the lie."

            "I'm hurt," she said, looking nothing of the kind. "I come all this way to see an old friend and perhaps make a deal and not only do you not remember me, you insult me as well."

            "As much fun as this has been," Bakura rubbed his forehead in exasperation "I really don't feel like bantering with an insane little brat. Leave."

            "Well, neither do I, but we're both stuck aren't we?" she smiled sweetly at him. She moved across the room, the shadows moving with her so you could never quite see her outline or any details. Except for her eyes. You could always see her eyes.

            Bakura tensed as she put her hand to her pocket, but all she pulled out were several small gray pebbles. "The seeds of the shadows are being planted Bakura. You won't even feel it." She looked at him as she juggled the seeds in one hand. "Ryou will get over it and you'll-"

            "Be your ever-willing servant, right?" Bakura sneered. He watched her continue to juggle, getting more and more annoyed. He snatched at the seeds, but when he opened his hand, he hadn't caught anything. 

            "Shame, shame, Star's dark," she said shaking her head in mock sadness. "Theivery will get you nowhere." Then she smiled a smile that radiated good will, but Bakura could see the flames behind the tranquility. "But this visit has gotten me everywhere."    

            With a grand bow, she stepped back into the shadows that wrapped around her like a quilt. Her voice called one last time. "Good bye Star's Dark. I'll see you again. I enjoyed our visit, so I'll be sure to return the favor when you visit me. Let's make it soon, agreed?"

            With that she was gone. Bakura stood glaring at the spot for a while, his knife hand itching like crazy. Finally, he calmed down enough to exit the soul room.

            Once he was gone, something stirred. 

            A tiny tremor ran through the floor. 

            A tiny seed was sending out roots. 

            It rose out of the floor, a vine with a million branches, all as fine as a spider web and as clever as the one who created it. They stole over the room, wrapping everything in their shadowed embrace. Then, without a sound, grew longer until one slipped out of the cracks beneath the door. There were more soul rooms to visit…

(A/N: I seriously considered stopping here. Guess you all lucked out.)

A day or so later…

            "Will you quit trying to drown Jonouchi in your soda?" Anzu finally snapped out at Honda as Yugi laughed and even Yami chuckled. "Honestly!"

            The five of them were in the arcade, taking a break from the games for a few moments. A bored Jounochi had tried to pass the time by teasing Honda about his crush, resulting in an amusingly violent Honda. 

            Yugi and Yami were trying to stay out of the house. Their grandpa had arranged for people to fix the back door while he was away. Rather convenient since it meant the house was full of sawdust while he was away on a dig.

            "Aw man!" Jounouchi said as he mopped soda from his hair. "Some chick's hoggin' the racing game." He glared daggers at the girl in question for a few moments. Yugi followed his gaze and gave a start. 

            "Yami, look." he pulled on Yami's arm. "It's Kamui!" 

            "You know her Yugi?" Anzu asked surprised. "I don't recognize her. Does she go to our school?"

            Yugi shook his head. "She goes somewhere else. I just met her the other day."

            "She doesn't seem to be doin' too well on the racing," Jounochi observed as Kamui crashed into yet another building. "I really hope she doesn't have a license."

            "Look at her, Jonouchi," Anzu sighed. "Does she _look_ old enough to get a license?"

            "Well, no, but neither does Yugi," Jounochi defended himself. "And Yugi's nearly old enough. No offense Yugi."

            "None taken," Yugi said amiably.

            "Wonder where Shion is," Yami muttered as he scanned the room. "I would have thought she'd be with Kamui."

            "Are they sisters?" Anzu asked curiously.

            "Um, kind of," Yugi admitted with a glance at Yami. Honda caught the glance. 

            'Oh man, it's not another set, is it? How many are there? I'm afraid of looking around a corner and seeing my own twin.' He thought with a roll of his eyes. To take his mind off it, he called to Jonouchi. "Bet I can kick your butt in the new fighting game."

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Can not!"        

"Would you two stuff it and just go play th stupid game?" Anzu finally burst out. She looked at her watch. "Man, I gotta get going. My shift at work starts in half an hour. See ya!" She all but flew out the door.

            Yami watched the other two argue good naturedly for a few more moments then approached Kamui. Yugi followed close behind. She was still trying to make it to the finish line with minimal success. 

            "Hi Kamui," Yugi called out as they got closer. "Where's Shion?"

            Kamui turned around as the words GAME OVER flashed across her screen. She smiled happily, not at all distressed by all the casualties she'd just caused in the virtual world. "Hey guys. Shion's, you know," She looked around the crowded room nervously. "S.R."

            /S.R.?/ Yugi wondered.

            //Soul room// Yami supplied.

            /Ah. Got it./

            "I think she's asleep. I haven't heard from her in a while and she's generally making comments about my video game skill by now. Maybe she's tired of pushing through the coin." She shrugged.

            "Whaa..?" Yugi asked, confused.

            "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Remember how I said we found the account of you guys an' the sealing an' all that in my soul room?" They nodded. "Well, Shion didn't have a real body at that point. You know, a physical one, unless she borrowed from me. So we copied your, uh, situation. See, I guess you have to use something physical to create something physical. I dunno. Shion understood it. So we use this." She pulled from under her shirt a bronze coin on a black cord that was around her neck. One side had an armored knight and the other a dragon.

            /Shaadi would know about it I guess./

            //Perhaps, but I don't really feel like tracking him down and getting him to explain it.//

            /No kidding./

            It was at this point that all lights in the room shattered, plunging the room into shadows.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

Bwa ha ha! Review or be left in the dark about what happens next. Fear my awesome pun power! Bwa ha ha!

Seriously, I will cancel this fic if it seems like no ones reading it. I have no qualms about just emiling what I've written/will write to the two or so people who seem to care. I have other ideas I want to try, but I know if I go onto something else, the odds of my finishing this will be flushed down the tube.

So push the button please. J


	8. Riddles

^_^ I feel so happy . You guys really came through with the reviews. I haven't been able to get on the computer for over a week and now I find a bunch of reviews! Yea! Oh, Nightlight agreed to help edit my stories (go Nightlight!) but being the computer genius that I am, I can't get to what she sent me, so you all get to read the unedited version. Lucky you.

Disclaimer: not in this universe. (In another one…)

Ch. 7- Riddles 

            Yugi braced himself as he waited for the crowded room to be thrown into panic. His heart raced as he only heard silence.

            "Yami? Jonouchi?" he called, reaching out blindly.

            "I'm right here, Aibou," Yami's voice came from right beside him. "Kamui? Shion?"

            "I'm here," said Kamui shakily. Her voice cracked. "Shion won't answer. Maybe she _can't_ answer!"

            "Calm down," Yami demanded. "Listen." They did. Suddenly Yugi could make out humming coming from the back of the room. Gray light began to illuminate the room. The room was still full but no one else moved. The three wound their way through the people who looked like statues of granite in the gray light. The humming stopped and a voice began to sing. A bright, cold voice. Words spread through the air as though they could cut.

            "Light and Dark, the two undying

Holding tight the earth below

Holding fast the bond unbreaking

See the strength between them flow." A dark form materialized in the darkness. It was the same one Bakura had seen. A Cheshire-cat grin adorned her features. "Want to know the next verse?" Her eyes drifted across each face. Yugi shuddered as insane eyes bored into his.

            "Aww. Poor little hikari. You are the strongest light, but all are weak." She took a step forward. Yami was instantly in front of him. 

"Don't you touch him," he growled, eyes flashing. The fire yami stopped, surprised.

"Why would I do that? He will be the last prepared, though not the final prize. Didn't you learn anything as you played at being a pharaoh? All things must be done in their proper order." She giggled as she turned to Kamui. "Shall I show you? I keep all my memories," she clapped her hands together like a toddler that has just learned ot tie its own laces. 

A hazy Bakura appeared beside her. They could see it wasn't real. It looked like a fuzzy hologram with no sound. They watched with bated breath as it acted out some past occurrence. 

Bakura motioned as though he were trying to open a stuck door. Then he looked down at his feet. His mouth moved like he was yelling. His arms jerked to his sides and he toppled over. He struggled against invisible bindings as the picture faded out.

The fire yami has a satisfied expression as she looked around at their faces. "Yes. That's _about_ how his hikari looked at first when I showed him. More tears though."

Something clicked in Yugi's mind. "Ryou," he whispered. "What have you done with him? And where's Bakura?"

"Oh, the star yami is still in his soul room of course. He's just a little tied up." She giggles at her own joke. Yami could have gagged. "No, no, I wouldn't _dream_ of trying to hold _him_ for long. The dark is always more powerful His light, on the other hand…" She shrugged dismissively. "One good blow and he fell right over."

Yami looked like he would have strangled her right then if it hadn't meant moving from Yugi's side. "You-" he looked at Yugi guiltily, and then proceeded, in Egyptian for the two hikaris' sake, to tell the fire yami _exactly_ what he thought of her. She wasn't amused

"That _wasn't_ very flattering." She frowned. "I don't like you very much." Her eys had dropped from insane cheerfulness to cold and calculating. "I'll leave your light for now if you give me the moon hikari."

Kamui whimpered unintentionally and Yugi pulled her behind Yami with him. "Shion…" she whispered.

"Oh, quit whining!" the fire yami sighed. "Your darkness wasn't like that. She wasn't quite as vocal as _him_," she glared at Yami, "But she wasn't a baby about it."

Kamui finally lost it "What did you do to her?!" She screamed. "Give her back!" She pushed past Yugi and bent to dive past Yami. 

"You idiot! No!" Yami hissed, reaching for her. He grabbed air. The fire yami's grin returned. When Kamui was a foot from her, shadows leapt from behind the fire yami onto Kamui and she vanished. 

"Two down, one to go!" The fire yami sang happily, eyeing Yugi greedily. "The the games can really begin! You like games, right Yugioh? Let's have a little pre-game, shall we?" Yami's only response was to growl as he stood firmly between her and Yugi. The fire yami wagged a finger at him. "You better put a leash on that temper or I'll win the game! All the other yamis were, shall we say, kept busy when I captured their hikaris, but this time, I think I'll give you a chance, just to break the monotony. Here's a hint:"

"If you put a man in a room with cement walls, ceiling, and floor, with no doors or windows, how do you get him out?" The fire yami smiled happily. "that's your only hint. If you solve the riddle, it'll tell you how I plan to snatch the sun hikari from under your nose. Have fun!" She vanished and the room lit up once more. A wave of noise hit them as everyone in the room began to talk and move about as though nothing had happened. 

Jonouchi jogged up to them. "Hey guys…jeeze you both look serious. What happened to you?"

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          

How many riddle solvers do we have? If you have a guess for the riddles answer, put it in a review, or send it to angel_of_riddles@yahoo .com. Good luck. I'll announce who got it right with my next post. Mega points if you solve the riddle and guess the fire yami's plan.


	9. Check

Hey yall! Bet you guys thought I was never coming back, huh? Well, in honor of getting an A on my English project that I did yesterday, I got off my lazy butt and actually wrote another chapter. Finals are coming now, so I can't promise much, but I'll try to update again soon, okay? Thanks for all the reviews. You guys rock!

I didn't get a lot of riddle guesses. Oh well. The answer's in this chapter.

Disclaimer: puh-lease!

Oh, this might be a little short, but bear with me, at least it's here!

Ch.8

"So there's some freak from the shadow realm trying to capture Yugi?" Jonouchi asked a pacing Yami.

            "Yep," Yugi confirmed.

            "Man, you cannot catch a break, can you?"

            "Nope," he agreed.

            Yugi slumped further into the couch. Honda was leaning near the door and Jounochi was sitting on the floor. Yami had done the best he could to summarize the situation.

            The new door was finally installed. The four of them had been sneezing form the saw dust a good half hour upon arriving.

            Honda and Jounochi had agreed to help keep lookout all night as soon as they heard Yugi might be in danger.

            An hour later, Jounochi jumped up ad gave the couch a vicious kick. "Man, this stinks! I can't stand just sitting here, waiting for something to happen. _We_ should be on the offensive, not that two bit psycho witch!"

            "Sit down and quit making a fool of yourself!" Honda rolled his eyes. "Yami and Yugi already said they don't know where she came from, let alone how to find her now."

            "Well, both Bakura and whats-her-name were attacked in their soul rooms, right? So she's connected to there somehow!" Jounochi said triumphantly.

            "We _have _thought of that, Jou," Yugi said quietly. "But if she was able to hold both Bakura and Shion long enough to hold Ryou and Kamui, then the same thing might happen to Yami."

            "And so we are forced to let her make the first move," Yami said tensely.

            Yugi yawned. "We should try to get some sleep if we can. Otherwise, she can just wait until we're too tired to move, let alone fight."

            "I'll take the first watch," Yami offered.

            "Alright, Yami," Jounochi was already stretching out on the floor. "Wake me if ya hear something, or if ya get tired."

            Yami watched all the others drift off to sleep. He suppressed a laugh as Jounochi rolled over, mumbling about pudding.

            Not trusting himself to stay awake, he rose and quietly paced the floor. The sky was dark and the streetlamp shone in through the window, casting the room into a labyrinth of shadows.

            He sighed and leaned against the newly erected door…and sunk into it! The door wasn't solid, it was more like quicksand! As he fell into the illusion, the answer to the stupid riddle flashed through his mind.

            How do you get a man out of a room with no doors or windows? Through the _doorway_ or course!

            (A/N: Don't kill me! I like this riddle, okay?)

            "Yugi, run!" he yelled as the illusion of the door faded into the form of the fire yami. Yugi barely had time to open his eyes before the fire yami's dark flames engulfed him. Springing from her hand, the flames wrapped around the bewildered and frightened hikari as he struggled to get away.

            Jounochi and Honda were on their feet in a flash and as one they dove at the fire yami. She moved to sidestep them, but Jounochi's fist grazed her cheek as he fell to the ground.

            "You hit me…" She seemed stunned by the concept. "_Nobody _hits me!"

            "Then call me Nobody, 'cause I'm gonna do a lot more than that if ya don't let my pal go," Jounochi threatened. Honda nodded in agreement.

            "Well said," Yami stepped forward. He tensed, knowing full well that his hikari was still in the madwoman's power.

            "I am releasing the other yamis," the fire yami announced suddenly. "I couldn't have held them much longer anyway." I suggest you all hurry." A sudden grin lit up her features. Madness rolled with insanity as it sparked in her eyes. She looked at Yami and began to sing:

            "Light and dark the two undying

             Holding tight the earth below

             Holding fast the bond unbreaking

             See the strength between them flow.

             Pure sweet notes of flowing darkness

             Wrap around your dying light

             Hold them close and comfort vainly

             For soon ends this final night."

            With the last note, she and Yugi vanished. "No!" Yami leaped forward, but it was too late. There was a blinding flash and Bakura appeared, followed closely by Shion.

            "Where's Ryou?!" Bakura demanded, eyes flashing around the room.

            "Gone," said Yami shortly and his tone of voice made the others take a quick step back. "She has them. All three."

And…that's it! I know, it's short, but live with it, please? Originally, I had planned to write this part as part of the previous chapter, but I wanted to give people a chance to try the riddle.

 Looks at Poem Uh, that doesn't sound good does it?

Review!


	10. onward

Im ba-ack! Lets hear it for free time ladies and gents. I dont know where it came from though, since Im in the process of applying for college. ANYBODY WHO LOVES ME OR CARES BETTER DARN WELL CROSS THEIR FINGERS!!!

Hee hee. Thanks.

Now then, where were we? Oh yesall the hikaris are trapped by a crazy lady that appeared from no wheresounds like a fangirl got loose. On with the fic!

Ch. 9- Into the Shadows

Bakura let out a string of choice words. Yami couldnt say he disagreed.

"Where are they?" Shion demanded anxiously. She kept walking a few feet in one direction, then seemed to change her mind in mid-step and would whirl around to face another direction, wringing her hands. "We've go to find them. We've got to-"

"Get ahold of yourself already," Bakura growled. "You're a disgrace of a darkness."

"You-" Shion started angrily when Yami cut in.

"Shion. Bakura is not the one who took your light. Your anger would be better directed at the proper source." His own fists were clenched as he spoke and his voice was strained though gritted teeth. Something was bound to explode.

"Jounochi saved them the trouble. We gotta go after her!" He punctuated the statement with a kick to the sofa. That fire yamis asking for it!

"She has, hasnt she?" Yami said thoughtfully. Bakura gave him an odd look. "No, I mean she's hinted there's more to this than just stealing our hikaris, which made me think she knows well find her. She's counting on it."

"Of course she is!" Bakura snarled in disgust. "She's deranged. She'd have to be to challenge me so blatantly."

"Yugioh, I dont care if its a trap, Shion enunciated clearly.

Yami nodded. Nor do I. Im going to get Yugi back. Hes counting on me."

"And I just want to plant her smiling face face under my foot" Bakura simulated pushing something down with his foot. "And Ryou cooks better than I do, so we might as well haul him back while we're there."

"Fine" Yami's mouth was set in a hard line. "All we need to do is figure out how to find her."

The silence sett;ed as they racked their minds for anything. Some clue that the fire yami might have left. The stillness was broken when Jounochi, of all people, lept to his feet. "Yer sour rooms!" he shouted, nearly tripping in his rush to stand.

"What?" Shion looked at him, puzzled.

"She got in through your soul rooms, right? So couldn't you go through your soul rooms to get to _her_?" He looked at them excitedly. Honda clappe dhim on the shoulder.

"Alright Jou! That's it!"

"You morons," Bakura said with disgust. "We just got _out_ of our soul rooms. Do you really think we'd want to give her the opportunity to capture us _again_?"

Yami, however, sided with Jounochi. "Wait Bakura. Remember what she said? She couldn't have held the two of you for much longer." He pointed at Bakura and Shion. "With the three of us and having to hold our hikaris, I don't think she can do it."

"Good." Shion clapped her hands together in anticipation. "Let's get in and get out fast. We're going to need to do this quickly.

"But not before I have a 'talk' with this girl one-on-one." Bakura cracked his knuckles. "You and the Pharaoh grab Ryou and the others while I explain what happens when you try and humiliate me."

"You really miss Ryou, don't you?" Yami asked him.

"It's the principle of the thing, Baka Pharaoh. Thinking she could take him was an insult to my powers." He glared at Yami. "Just get your royal butt into the soul rooms. They said something about a hallway, didn't they?" Without waiting for a resonse, he vanished. Shion shrugged and followed suit.

"This sucks'" Jounochi grumbled. "How are we supposed to help ya stuck out here?"

"Be prepared in case she reappears." Yami suggested, vanishing into his own soul room. He immediately recoiled in horror when he saw the state of his soul room. Silver vines that pulsed with a strange light had crept into everything. They covered the floor like a loose carpet and slithered up the wall like so many snakes. One began to creep up over his foot and he quickly crushed it under his heal.

Surpressing the desire to begin ripping them from every surface, he made his way over to the door and wrenched it open. To his disgust he saw vines in the hallway were covering Yugi's door and creeping into it. How dare those foul things invade a place which should have been a refuge for his young light!

He reached out a hand to tear them off.

"Pharaoh!"

His hand dropped and Yami spun around in surprise. Bakura and Shion stood a little ways away. He strode over to them, quickly concealing his surprise.

"Look," Shion pointed as he drew nearer. Along the floor stretched the vines. They covered every door, but all of the branches eventually continued past them farther down the hallway into the darkness. Without another word the three of them followed the silver line: the darkness of the Stars, Moon, and in the lead, the Sun.

((A/N: Sorry. I'll post more soon, but It's all I can get up now.))

Review!!!!


	11. The Trials Begin

Is it…could it be? Yes! Yes, it's an actual immediate update! Don't die from shock guys. I guess I felt bad since nothing happened in the last chapter….and I got really bored in Chem class too.

Chapter 9- The Trials Begin

They continued walking in the darkness without speaking. The only sounds were those of footfalls and the soft sighs of drawn breath. Yami longed to run to the end of the tunnel, but managed to control his pace…barely. It would do him no good to arrive at his destination any more vulnerable than needs be. It would not help Yugi. She would keep him safe until he and the other yamis arrived. He had to believe that.

The darkness began to fade away as a dim light grew in the distance. When they could see, yami took note that the walls were cracked and crumbling. A layer of dust covered everything and sprung up in clouds every time they put a foot down.

He felt himself tense as they approached the two doors at the end of the hallway.

Or at least, what used to be two doors.

"My Ra," Bakura breathed.

A stone slab, a mockery of a door, was cut on the hikari's side of the hallway. A symbol of a flame was engraved on its center. Wisps of frost covered the door like lashes from a blunted knife. A black coldness seemed to emanate from it, chilling the yamis to their very core.

The most disturbing part of the door was what lay in the center of the flame. A pinpoint hole was barely visible in the gloom. A strange substance trickled through it. Yami would have sworn it was blood from the consistency, but it had a different color, which was as tainted water. The liquid seeped through, dripping steadily.

Each drop froze before it hit the floor, forming a tear that shattered without a sound when it hit the ground.

"It's…it's crying," Shion said with a strange calmness. "Yugioh, Bakura, look there." She pointed to a fine line that Yami had missed that ran through its middle. A crack split the door in two.

"So this is what she does," Bakura's voice sounded harsh in the stillness. "Froze the flame, then broke it." He nodded, not in agreement with the deed, but rather with confirmed expectations. "So that's how she killed her hikari's soul."

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Let's go." They turned to face the other door, the door of the fire yami. An identical flame might have been carved on this one as well, but no one could tell.

It was a pure black. It was nearly blinding because all the light was thrown back from it, for not even the vine's silver light would touch the door. Yami was loathe to touch it, but he put forth his hand to open the door.

It swung open before his fingertips had even grazed the surface, revealing a long row of stairs that led up and to the right. A blur of echoes rushed at them, voices on the wind. Yami couldn't sort out the words for a few seconds, only the voices as they flew around him: Ryou, Kamui,…and Yugi

They were voices from the past. He heard bits he remembered were from YUgi playing basketball, the childish voice they used when they ransacked the candy store, his grumbing when his grandpa had given him extra chores…A thousand memories floated audibly in the air.

"How..?" even Bakura looked bewildered and overwhelmed. "Ryou?"

Over everything came the cold, merciless voice of the fire yami.

"Better hurry. They can loose more that those memories if I get impatient."

"Don't you touch him," Yami burst out, sprinting up the stairs. Bakura was half a step behind with Shion bringing up the rear. His mind was a wirl. This wasn't how it was supposed to work! He was cooperating with the Tomb Robber for Ra's sake!

Therapy was definitely in order for him and Yugi later.

He was in such a hurry that Bakura had to grab his shoulder to keep him from crashing into the door at the top of the stairs. Yami turned to stare at him.

"Don't get any ideas, baka," Bakura pushed past him. "I just didn't want you to make the lock stick by ramming it with your fat head."

Yami was about to respond when a gasp from Shion made them both whirl around. She was staring wide-eyed at the door. Bakura and Yami followed her gaze to face…was that the fire yami?

It certainly looked a lot like her. The eyes were softer though and the hair was cut short like a boy's. The girl looked ahead blankly and Yami felt a strange jolt as he realized he could see right through her. Her skin was an ashy grey as was her skin and hair. All were shadows.

Her eyes fell upon him. "Yami?" her voice was soft and light. "My yami?"

"Are…are you the fire hikari?" Yami asked loudly, meeting her eyes.

"No yami?" her speech was hesitant and broken. The girl looked thoughtful, then reached behind her and opened the door for them. She put a finger to her lips, signaling silence, then vanished.

"Well that was beyond creepy," Shion whispered.

"But pretty common for around here," Yami and Bakura mumbled at the same time.

Yami stepped across the threshold of the doorway and instantly fell to his knees. Shion let out a cry and tried to run after him, but Bakura blocked her way.

"What good will it do to have two of you on the floor?" he said coldly as Shion tried to push past. She glared at him, but did not follow Yami.

"I'm alright," Yami gasped, pushing himself slowly back to a standing position. "It was just a shock."

"What happened Pharaoh?" Bakura eyed the doorway warily.

"You didn't think I'd just let you walk in with full power blazing and wipe me out did you?" A sweet little laugh came from further into the room. "Let's consider this your first test, shall we?" The fire yami stepped into view in front of Yami. "Are your precious hikaris worth this weakness?"

Shion gave her a dirty look and pushed past Bakura, who moved aside to let her go ahead this time. She stumbled as she stepped into the room, but because she was expecting it, she had more success than Yami did.

The fire yami watched with an unimpressed expression. When she turned to speak to Bakura, her voice was full of reason and persuasiveness. "Why would you humiliate yourself for the little weakling in the other room? Don't you know that light diminishes a darkness' power?"

Bakura didn't buy it. "I'm never weak." He stepped across into the room without a quiver, though Yami could distinctly hear his laborious effort to breathe.

"How nobel," she said with disgust, looking at the three of them. "How good, how kind, how _utterly stupid_." She said the last part with such vehemence that the very air hissed. "Do you know why we _have_ lights? So that we can't rise." She met each gaze without hesitation. "The gods created light to bind the darkness, to put us in out place." Her eyes narrowed. "And you would protect it. Ha! That's as good as a man who holds to his shackles because they protect his wrists!"

"Enough!" yami shouted. "Enough of your lies and twisted words. Where is Yugi?"

She ignored him. "What's that they call you now? King of Games, right? And you, a tomb robber, correct?" She turned her eyes to Bakura, then slid her gaze over to Shion. "_You_ haven't even made a name for yourself. Pitiful." She tsked. Bakura growled impatiently.

"I'll give her 'enough'," he started forward. Just because they couldn't use any powers didn't mean his fist was immobile!

She took a step back and raised her hand. A black flame appeared behind her and she stepped into it. "In case you were wondering, the quickest way to Kamui is that way, the quickest way to Ryou is that way, and Yugi is that way." Each time she said a name a stone doorway appeared in the wall. She vanished into the flames just as Bakura reached for her. His fist met flames and he quickly yanked it back. As Yami came closer, he saw Bakura's fist was covered with red, blister marks.

"It was that hot?" Shion gasped when she saw. "You barely touched it."

"No," Bakura shook his head slowly. "It was the coldest thing I've ever felt."

"Can you-"

"I'm _fine_, Pahraoh," Bakura pulled away sharply and began running down the hallway of the door that had appeared when Ryou's name was said. "Shut up and grab your light so we can get out of this insane asylum." He called back over his shoulder. In seconds they could no longer see him.

"He's right." Shion and Yami ran towards their respective doors. "Find Kaumi and get out of here as quickly as you can."

Shion nodded. "I'll meet you back at the house. Good luck." She too was soon out of sight.

Yami sprinted down the hallway. "Abou!" he called out as he rounded a corner. "Yugi can you hear me?" Now more than ever he missed that mind link that they normally shared.

Yugi?

/…/ There was no response. The wall blocking any advantage they normally had was still in place.

"Cheater cheater," the fire yami's laugh echoed around him.

"I am not cheating if I never agreed to play the game," Yami shouted back without lessening his pace.

The path twisted and turned. Yami had to slow a little to keep from running into the walls. There was a small lighted window at the end of the tunnel. Yami peered though it carefully.

"Yugi!" he cried out. It was a window to a a white, doorless room in which his little light knelt on all fours, looking half asleep. His mouth was open as he drew in breaths with rapid intensity of a suffocating man. "Yugi!" Yami pounded on the window, trying to break it or at least get yugi's attention.

"he can't hear you," the fire yami appeared next to him, leaning casually against the wall and inspecting her nails. "In a few minutes the only thing he'll be able to hear will be the angel of death calling him home."

Release him!" Yami croaked. He grabbed a ther, but she was as solid as the air.

"Certainly," she nodded. "The air ought to have done its work by now." She raised her hand…then let it fall. "But then, what fun would that be?"

"Now!" Yami began to pound desperately on the window again.

"What'll you trade me for him?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Anything. Everything. I don't care, just let him out of that room." Yami watched in horror as Yugi drew a shaky breath and closed his eyes. His small form landed in a huddled heap in the middle of the white room.

"Hmmm…" she looked at the ceiling in thought, completely immune to Yami's panic. "'anything' sounds delightful. I'll collect it later." She vanished at the same time the wall did. Yami was at Yugi's side faster than he could blink. The air of the room was rank and foul, obviously poisonous. Yami pulled him out into the corridor where the air was at least a bit cleaner.

"Yugi?" he looked at his hikari and could barely speak for fear of the worst. To his immense relief, Yugi coughed and cracked an eye open.

"Y-yami?" he drew a shuttering breath.

Relief swept through Yami. Gently, he picked Yugi up to that he could carry him on his back. He turned to continue with Yugi back the way he had come.

The hallway back no longer existed.

All around them, the strains of the fire yami's song echoed around them mockingly.

"Pure sweet notes of flowing darkness,

Wrap around your dying light.

Hold them close and comfort vainly,

For soon ends this final night."

So…tired. ACT in the morning….what the heck am I doing up??


End file.
